The heat has been dialled up on Stranded On Honeymoon Island with the arrival of the Intimacy Crate. Jess and Sam shocked each other and viewers when they were asked to reveal how many sexual partners they had in the past, with both hovering around the same number of 100.
While Jess was “concerned” about telling Sam, the couple appeared to come at it from a place of no judgment. So why did the castaway decide to be honest on national TV and spill such an intimate secret? Jess tells Chattr she wanted women to feel “empowered”, and calls any criticism of a woman’s body count an “archaic stigma”.
“I’m confident in who I am, and I believe that women should feel empowered to learn about and express their sexuality. However, of course, I was apprehensive about sharing this number on TV,” she admits.
“This alone reflects the way that many women feel; nervous about being honest because they want to avoid judgment, but similarly tentative about being dishonest, or framing themselves in a light that shows they are sexually inexperienced. We really are straddling the line between owning our truth or being perceived as uptight or boring.”
Jess says she considers her past sexual experiences to be private, but has experienced some negative reactions when she has decided to share more information in the past. “I have certainly experienced judgment or considered [as] a red flag for [my sexual history],” she says.
“Sex should be fun and enjoyable. It has the potential to bind a connection in an intimate and unique way and there is absolutely no shame in two individuals wanting to explore the physicality of their connection.”
She can’t speak for men, but if she had to take a guess as to why some men are threatened by a woman’s sexual past could come from “protectiveness” or “unwillingness to imagine sharing”, or potentially even a “fear of not being able to satisfy her sexually”.
“For women, the ‘body count’ stigma is unfortunately still so prevalent in modern-day dating,” she adds. “It’s an archaic stigma based on dated assumptions that sex should be with one person only for the purpose of procreation.”
Are Jess and Sam still together today?
At this stage, Jess and Sam have had a bit of a bumpy ride. After having a disagreement, Sam disappeared for hours to meditate, leaving Jess worried sick. However, this intimacy task seems to have repaired their relationship slightly. So, are they still together after Stranded On Honeymoon Island?
There aren’t many clues out there, but the couple are both still following each other on social media. Fingers crossed they made it all the way, unlike Emily and Tom.
Stranded On Honeymoon Island airs Mondays and Tuesdays at 7:30pm on Channel 7 and 7Plus.
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